Xbox One will get YouTube app at launch after all

The Xbox One is set to launch tomorrow, November 22, and it will do so with the assured availability of a YouTube app.

It might sound like a no-brainer to have the most popular video service on your brand new console – especially if that console has pretensions of being your one-stop media hub. But that didn’t seem like a dead cert up until recently.

No Xbox One YouTube app had been confirmed, either by YouTube or Microsoft. Then there was that whole messy Windows Phone 8 dispute.

You see, Windows Phone 8 still doesn’t have a proper YouTube app. Microsoft and YouTube resolved to work together on one, but the app that Microsoft eventually put out contravened YouTube’s policies on advertising, prompting its immediate withdrawal.

Any suggestions of bad blood between the two companies appear to have been put aside, though, with YouTube’s announcement of an Xbox One app over on its official blog.

What’s more, the app is fully on board with Xbox One’s unique capabilities. Besides a natty new interface (with gaming videos pushed to the fore, it seems), you can also control the app by saying ‘YouTube’ from anywhere in the app, followed by commands such as ‘play,’ ‘pause’ or ‘fast forward’ for the appropriate effect.

It’s also possible to employ gestures to browse through the vast stock of YouTube videos. Simply reach up and “grab the screen” (presumably not literally) to scroll through videos, then use your hand to pick the one you want. Or, you know, just use the controller.

All of this is possible, of course, thanks to the Kinect camera and mic system that will come with every Xbox One console, enabling hands-free navigation of its Windows 8-derived OS.

Of course, there’s still no confirmation of a YouTube app for Sony’s PS4, and it’s already out in the US.

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